Music Department Holds Annual Music Assembly

By EILENA DING, AUDREY KIM, IAN KOO, LENA KOOK, JINMIN LEE, CATHERINE MANLEY, AVNI MURARKA, JAYDEN OH, GRACE YANG, JADE YOO, and AUDREY ZHOU

    On Oct. 5, instead of listening to an assembly speaker, students watched as the Academy’s music students took the assembly stage and performed a variety of a capella pieces, classical music, and self-composed songs.

    The Music Department has over 600 private music lessons, and students found an opportunity to showcase their talent at assembly. Students went through a quick audition process and practiced briefly before their performance. Although some were worried about sound projection in the assembly hall with many people, the musicians—ranging from classical instrument trios to a faculty guitarist—moved the audience with their performance.

    The Music Department had a quick turnaround to pull together a performance, as Exonians only returned to campus four weeks ago. “We got together and decided on performances representing all the different student activities in the music department,” Instructor in Music Rohan Smith said.

    “We wanted what would be a good, broad representation of all the things we try and do in the music department,” Instructor in Music Eric Schultz added. “We approached individual groups and people to see if they would be willing to perform. That happened two weeks ago or less.”

    “The pieces were prepared in advance, and we just showed up and did it. There was no dress rehearsal or anything,” Instructor in Music Kristofer Johnson reflected. “The first singing group was just auditioned three weeks ago, and they’ve only been together a short time.”

    “I feel like preparations were hectic. We didn’t have a lot of time to rehearse, but it was good because we used this piece to audition, and then we were able to have three rehearsals before this performance,” senior Roy Liu, who performed in the a capella group, shared.

    Despite the nervousness that came from a short preparation window, performance organizers and musicians reflected positively on the assembly. “The chamber group was both excited and quite nervous because playing and performing on stage for a thousand students who are your peers is enormously intimidating. The energy in this room is really special,” Smith reflected.

    “I thought it went well,” senior Lucy Previn, who performed on stage, shared. “It was a rewarding experience to be able to play in front of the school. It’s very rare that we get to perform in front of that many people. It was fun to be able to share that with all my classmates.”

    Davido Zhang, who performed alongside Previn, commented, “I initially found the performance intimidating because we had tried playing in the assembly hall only once before, and the acoustics were not as nice as the Bowld. It was really hard for the string instruments to project, and the piano also sounded murky. We were anxious about how it would come out with everyone in the room. But I think we dealt with it well.”

    Instructor in Music Dave Wade, who played the classical guitar on stage, shared his mindset going into the performance. “You can easily feel nervous on stage because of all of the voices inside your head that tell you you’re not good enough. ‘What if I mess it up?’ ‘They’re gonna think I’m a fraud.’ But then you must remember that there is no one in the audience who wants you to perform poorly. Every single person her    e wants to have a good experience. I also remind myself of the people that have supported me through my whole life, whether it’s my grandmother or my great-aunt.”

    Students mentioned other musicians for their stellar performances. “I want to mention Mr. Wade,” Liu said. “I was impressed by his overall performance, but I was especially surprised by that harmonic at the end. I don’t know if everybody got how difficult that must have been to pull off. I thought it was fantastic.”

    “I would like to shout out Sophie Wagner. I thought her song was incredibly emotional and really beautiful to listen to,” Previn commented.

    Zhang agreed. “I thought Sophie was really impressive. I cannot imagine someone playing the guitar and singing by herself on stage. It was already challenging for three people, even though we were in a group. An individual endeavor feels even more courageous.”

    Wagner, a senior, sang and played the guitar to “Walk the Coals,” a self-composed song. “Composing has never been something I’ve needed to do homework for. It’s just a fun hobby to do in some free time or when I procrastinate on homework and want to say I’m being productive.”

    Wagner further shared, “It was definitely terrifying realizing that it was going to be the whole school, but I figured I couldn’t graduate without being on the assembly stage and having the opportunity to showcase something I love.”

    Performers expressed gratitude to their private tutors for mentorship and support. “I’m part of private music lessons,” Zhang explained. “The school has a private music teacher for every single instrument you can think of, even if you’re playing it like a rare instrument. I want to thank my cello teacher; our lessons have been really helpful. I’ve been doing it since prep here, and that’s how I’ve been improving as a cellist.”

    “I’ve been taking voice lessons with Mr. Cleveland,” Liu added. “It’s getting close to a whole year now, and he’s been super helpful with my technique, especially breath management. Everything he’s teaching me is aiding me with all my singing.”

    “I’d like to shout out Mr. Sinclair, who helped me prepare this song last year and this one,” mentioned Wagner. “For rehearsals, I show him what songs I’m working on, and he gives me notes on things such as picking pattern chords. I also want to shout out my friends and family members who’d sit through me playing all my random songs a million times.”

    Many students were also very moved by the assembly. Lower Aryan Agarwal stated, “It was really nice to hear music from students at Exeter. I listen to a lot of music, but to hear the talent and hard work of my classmates come to fruition is special. It shows me that the people around me, those that I see every day, can create something truly special. It was also overall just a nice change from hearing people speak about things, where oration can occasionally become repetitive or lack energy.”

    Upper Gwendolyn Eagle said, “The cello, violin, and piano performance really inspired me, and helped open my eyes to the wonderful music at this school.”

    Overall, the faculty, musicians, and students enjoyed the performance. Lower Christina Hu concluded, “We should have more of these assemblies; they truly show the talent the student body possesses, and it was truly such a wholesome and beautiful performance.”